1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of disassembling a lens-fitted photo film unit, and a disassembling apparatus therefor, by which the lens-fitted photo film unit is disassembled efficiently and economically in view of reusing respective parts.
2. Background Arts
Many types of lens-fitted photo film units, hereinafter referred to as the film units, have been known and widely sold in the markets. Recently, a film unit with a lens cover for protecting its taking lens from dusts and stains has been brought into the market. The film unit contains a roll of photo filmstrip therein and has simple photographic mechanisms incorporated thereinto. A unit body of the film unit consists of a body base portion pre-loaded with the filmstrip, and having the photographic mechanisms, including an exposure unit, mounted thereto, a front cover section covering the front side of the body base portion, and a rear cover section covering the rear side of the body base portion. An ornamental sheet made of paper or plastic is put around the unit body, for labeling as well as for covering up those openings which are unnecessary for using the film unit, but necessary for assembling or disassembling the film unit.
After the pre-loaded filmstrip is fully exposed, the whole film unit is forwarded to a photo finisher for development and printing. The photo finisher removes the exposed filmstrip from the unit body, and the emptied film unit is collected for recycling parts of the film unit.
In the recycling process, respective parts of the film unit are sorted into those parts which are to be reused as they are, and those to be reused as raw materials. For example, JPA 6-161042 discloses a disassembling method for the film units, wherein the film units are sorted according to the film unit type, and sent to an automatic disassembling line provided for each film unit type. To enable disassembling the film unit automatically, most parts of the film unit are coupled to one another through a snap-in engagement between a hook or hooks and a counterpart or counterparts. A claw is inserted into between the hook and its counterpart, and then moved to deform or bend the hook in a direction to release the engagement.
Among the disassembled parts, the exposure unit with a taking lens mounted thereon, a flash unit and other functional parts are reused as they are after inspecting their functions. Other parts, such as the front and rear cover sections and the body base portion, are reused as a raw material, since they are formed from the same plastic material.
The exposure unit removed from the body base portion is subjected to a lens cleaning process for cleaning the taking lens before being reused. For example, JPA 10-62915 discloses a lens cleaning process for the taking lens of the film unit. If the taking lens is scratched or deformed, the exposure unit cannot be reused just by cleaning it. Therefore, it is desirable to remove the taking lens from the exposure unit, and reuse the taking lens as a raw material.
It is easy to automatically remove the taking lens from the exposure unit when the taking lens is composed of a single lens element. However, where the taking lens is composed of front and rear lenses and a spacer disposed between the front and rear lenses, it is not so easy to remove the lens elements from the exposure unit. Especially where the spacer is formed from a different material from the front and rear lenses, it is necessary to remove them individually from the exposure unit. However, since the spacer has been tightly nipped between the lenses, and also these lens elements are plastic and thus tend to be charged with static electricity, they are likely to attract each other. So it is difficult to pick up them separately from each other. Moreover, when the spacer or the lens is removed along with another element of the taking lens, it may drop off before being collected, and may cause a trouble in the disassembling machine.
Before disassembling the film unit, the labeling and covering sheet has conventionally been peeled off from the unit body. However, since the sheet or label adheres to the unit body, it has been necessary to position a specific tool precisely, and move the tool slowly relative to the unit body, for peeling off the label. This process certainly lowers the speed and thus efficiency of the disassembling line.
To insert the disengaging tool into between the hook and the engaged counterpart, the hook must be accessible from the outside of the unit body. However, for the sake of fastening the front and rear cover sections securely to the body base portion, the unit body is often provided with a number of internal engaging portions which are located inside the unit body. In that case, it is hard to disassemble the unit body automatically.
Moreover, where the film unit is provided with the lens cover, and the lens cover must be removed from the front cover section to disassemble the film unit, the number of disassembling processes would be increased, and thus the cost of disassembling would be raised and the efficiency would be lowered.
In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provide a disassembling method and a disassembling apparatus, by which a film unit with a label around its unit body is efficiently disassembled.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a disassembling method and a disassembling apparatus, by which a film unit with a lens cover is efficiently disassembled.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a disassembling method and a disassembling apparatus, by which a film unit with internal engaging portions is efficiently disassembled.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a disassembling method and a disassembling apparatus, by which a taking lens of a film unit is efficiently decomposed into individual lens elements, while sorting the lens elements.
According to the present invention, a method of disassembling a film unit that consists of a body base portion having photographic mechanisms incorporated therein, front and rear cover sections removably attached to front and rear sides of the body base portion and joined together to cover up the body base portion, and a label member put across a joint between the front and rear cover sections, is comprised of the steps cutting the label member along the joint between the front and rear cover sections; and separating the front or the rear cover section from the body base portion without removing the label member from the front or the rear cover section.
Since there is no need for peeling off the label member from the front or the rear cover section, the efficiency of disassembling the film unit is remarkably improved.
According to a preferred embodiment, laser beams are used for cutting the label member. It is preferable to use a laser marker for cutting the label member. The laser marker is disposed on the one side of a conveying path along which the film unit is conveyed in a predetermined posture, and the laser marker projects the laser beams toward the portion of the label member extending on the joint of the film unit on the conveying path. The laser marker may project the laser beams while the film unit moves along the conveying path. The film unit may be conveyed intermittently. In that case, the laser marker may project the laser beams toward the film unit while the film unit stops on the conveying path.
According to the present invention, a disassembling method for a film unit whose front cover section has a lens cover that is mounted on a front cover main body so as to be movable between a closed position covering a taking lens and an open position uncovering the taking lens, is comprised of the steps of providing first and second access holes respectively through the lens cover and the front cover main body when manufacturing them, such that the first and second access holes overlap each other in the closed position of the lens cover, to provide an access to an internal engaging portion between the front cover section and the body base portion; inserting a tool into the first and second access holes, to disengage the internal engaging portion between the front cover section and the body base portion; and separating the front cover section from the body base portion without separating the lens cover from the front cover main body.
Since it is not necessary to separate the lens cover from the front cover main body, the efficiency of disassembling the film unit is highly improved.
The present invention also provides a method of disassembling a film unit whose housing consists of at least two sections which are removably joined together through at least an engagement between an internal hook formed on a first one of the at least two sections and a counterpart formed on a second one of the at least two sections, the internal hook being located inside the film unit in proximity to an opening formed through the first section for the sake of exposing an operational member operated for photography, the method comprising the steps of positioning the film unit in a predetermined posture at a disassembling stage; inserting a tool into a gap between the opening and the operational member; breaking though a portion of the first section by the tool to connect the gap to outside the film unit, thereby to make the first section bendable in an area around the internal hook; pushing the area around the internal hook in a direction to disengage the internal hook from the counterpart; and thereafter separating the first and second sections from each other. The first section may be a rear cover section, a front cover section or another housing section of the film unit.
Instead of breaking through a portion adjacent to the gap, it is possible to deform by a tool an area of the first section around the internal hook in a direction to disengage the internal hook from the counterpart, to separate the first and second sections from each other.
According to the present invention, an apparatus of disassembling a film unit having a taking lens that consists of a front lens, a rear lens and a spacer disposed between the front and rear lenses, the spacer having an aperture at its center, wherein the front and rear lenses and the spacer are held in a lens holder and secured therein by a lens fastener that is fitted to a front of the lens holder through a snap-in engagement, the apparatus is comprised of a positioning device for positioning the film unit in a posture where the taking lens is oriented upward; a first suction nozzle being moved in the lens holder after the lens fastener is separated from the lens holder, to suck the front lens onto its face end, and then moved away from the lens holder to remove the front lens from the lens holder; a nozzle consisting of an internal tube that functions as an air jet nozzle and an external tube that surrounds the internal tube and functions as a suction nozzle, the nozzle being moved in the lens holder after the front lens is removed, to suck the spacer onto a face end of the external tube, and then moved away from the lens holder to remove the spacer from the lens holder, while air is blown out from the internal tube to remove the rear lens from the spacer; and a second suction nozzle being moved in the lens holder after the spacer is removed, to suck the rear lens onto a face end of the second suction nozzle, and then moved away from the lens holder to remove the rear lens from the lens holder.
In this way, the lens elements of the taking lens are individually removed from the lens holder.
According to a preferred embodiment, a chute connected to a suction device is inserted under the first suction nozzle after the first suction nozzle is moved away from the lens holder to remove the front lens. The suction device connected to the chute has a weaker sucking power than the first suction nozzle such that if the spacer is removed along with the front lens from the lens holder, only the spacer is sucked into the chute.
According to another preferred embodiment, an anti-static cleaner is put on the front of the lens holder and activated, after the lens fastener is removed and before the first suction nozzle is moved in the lens holder, for blowing anti-static air into the lens holder to eliminate anti-static electricity from the front and rear lenses and the spacer.
By eliminating the static-electricity from the lens elements of the taking lens, it comes to be easier to separate the lens elements from each other.